BEIT SHEMESH (December 25) - The organization that administers Orot school in Beit Shemesh issued an apology yesterday for publicly burning a copy of the New Testament a student received from Christian missionaries.

"Everybody knows we made a mistake," said Jordana Klein, spokeswoman for Sha'alei Torah. "We wouldn't do it again. We don't think it's the right thing to do."

The book-burning took place in the school courtyard the week before Hanukka, after a teacher in the boys' school found that one of his sixth-grade students had brought in a Hebrew copy of the New Testament.

The student received it from local missionaries who, according to Klein, have been active in proselytizing Beit Shemesh children.

"The teacher said: 'God sent it and He gave us the privilege, and we'll be able to burn the New Testament," said Ariel Lesnick, 11, who is in the class.

The teacher consulted with the principal, Rabbi Yair Bachar, said Klein. After receiving approval, the teacher - whose name Klein refused to divulge - took his class outside.

Then, Lesnick said, "We took a few sticks and we burnt it." The teacher emphasized that the book-burning was an anti-missionary activity and not an anti-Christian one, Lesnick said.

After receiving calls from angry parents, Bachar reconsidered the decision, which Klein described as "too hasty." He consulted rabbinic authorities on the issue and decided to appoint Rabbi David Spector - rabbi of the Givat Sharet neighborhood of Beit Shemesh - as a permanent rabbinic decision-maker for the school.

Spector ruled that missionary material should be burned, but it is the sole responsibility of the owner to burn it and the burning should take place in private.

"It was appropriate to burn the New Testament in private," wrote Spector in his ruling. He cited traditional and modern rabbis, including Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, who wrote that he had burned missionary texts, which he called "books of incitement and brainwashing." Such burning is permissible even if the texts include the name of God, Spector said.

The teacher said that if missionary material were found in the school again, it would be thrown into the garbage rather than publicly burned, said Lesnick.

The Education Ministry was not aware of the incident, said spokeswoman Orit Reuveni.

"In principle, the ministry condemns book-burning as an educational act," she said. "We are not aware of this incident, but we will investigate the matter in depth."

Wayne Firestone, director of the Anti-Defamation League here, said the apology is a positive reaction to the school's "inappropriate" decision.

"The issue of conversion obviously is a sensitive one, and school officials are entitled to make requirements to try to protect their students from inappropriate materials entering the school," he said.

"At the same time, the symbolic and actual imagery of burning any books is really an inappropriate reaction to any offensive material. We're encouraged to hear that the school has issued an apology, and we hope that from the apology, they can send a better message to their own students about tolerance of other religions."

Since the burning, Bachar has addressed teachers, parents, and students - particularly the sixth-grade class - about the issue. He emphasized that the school is not against Christians but against Christian attempts to convert Jews, said Klein. The school is also planning programs to increase tolerance, she said.

The student who brought the New Testament in is not the only one missionaries have targeted. After the book-burning, one of the other students in the class said missionaries came to his home and hung a crucifix behind the mezuza, said Lesnick. The family told the missionary they didn't want the crucifix and returned it, he said.

"We obviously have a missionary problem," said Klein. "We weren't even aware of how big a problem it is in our school."

The students that missionaries approach are generally among the native Israelis and immigrants who make up about 40 percent of the student body and tend to live in old Beit Shemesh, said Klein. That section is poorer than the newer section populated mostly by Anglos, who comprise 60 percent of the student body.

The Anglo-Israeli divide may have contributed to a difference in the approach to burning the New Testament. Lesnick, whose family immigrated from New Jersey four years ago, saw that distinction among the boys in his class. "The Israelis thought it was the right thing to do, but for the Americans, you're used to seeing [non-Jews] every day, and you don't do that to somebody that's just a little different than you," he said.

His father, Marc, also noted the difference nationality may have made in the decision. The teacher, he said, is an Israeli who has never left the country. But as an American, he said, "This is not the type of education I want my kids to have. In America, they let you practice your religion, you let them practice their religion, and you kind of coexist."

Book-burning may also invoke different images for Anglos than for Israelis. "The idea of burning in general in our minds has to do with Kristallnacht and the KKK and so on," he said.

But once he brought the issue to the attention of the school, said Marc Lesnick, it "very quickly took the matter really seriously and dealt with it properly afterward."

Lesnick found out about the burning when Ariel came home from school. "My son got home from school that night, and he actually said to me, 'Dad, you know what we did today? Well, we burned the New Testament.' I said, 'You're joking,'" said Lesnick.

He discussed it with the teacher, and a few days later Bachar came to his home to talk about the incident. Lesnick is glad that they have told him they would "definitely not do this again."

Rev. Ray Lockhart, director of the Jerusalem-based Israel Trust of the Anglican Church, said burning the New Testament so publicly was "going over the top somewhat." Lockhart, whose organization focuses on ministry to the Jews, added that it's preferable to get a signed statement from parents before giving Christian scriptures to a minor.

"Clearly no Jewish person would want to see the Tanah being burnt, and would feel that whoever did it, it was an affront to their beliefs," he said.

But the school's apology, said Lockhart, mitigates the offense. "I think it shows that it's sometimes good to have second thoughts, and to recognize that we can all make mistakes in the way we make a response off the cuff without really thinking through all the implications."

Those "Russian" mafiosi are really nasty, I hear. Growing up in Odessa must have screwed many people up.

Has nothing to do with Odessa. Most of these criminals are not from Odessa, either. Just because brighton is called little Odessa, doen't mean that everyone who lives there is from Odessa, or that everyone who is a criminal lives on brighton beach. Nathan wasn't from Odessa. Growing up in Odessa has nothing to do with being a criminal or not. Check crime statistics of the soviet Odessa and Moscow, or any other major city.

the book-burning was an anti-missionary activity and not an anti-Christian one ; "It was appropriate to burn the New Testament in private,"; The teacher said that if missionary material were found in the school again, it would be thrown into the garbage rather than publicly burned.

Oh my! Its hard to tell the difference between the Taliban and Israel with this sort of law and logic in play. Huh? This is a private school! They are not enforcing their values on the country. In their minds, they were simply protecting the school. How is that Taliban like? Did they shoot the missionaries? No, they destroyed the materials they were given. They handled it poorly. They simply should not have accepted any materials from missionaries. However, most people on this list need to understand that many Jews are deeply threatened by Christian missionaries. While these missionaries handed out the books from love, Jews have a long memory. We remember forced conversions and rampant anti-Semetism in Europe. Having missionary work in Israel goes beyond this. It is seen as an invasion. Religious Zionists see Israel as a place were we are to follow Gods laws. To have someone try to convert children on their way to school is an affront. I have always been offended by a religious symbol (Star of David) on the side of police cars, tanks, fighter aircraft, and ambulances in Israel. Hell, democrats do this sort of thing in this country all the time. Israel is not the US! But at this crucial junction marking the safety and life of people around the world, one would think that any thinking person would be more interested in slowing the flames of hatred instead of fanning them. The administrators in the school considered their actions to be PROTECTING the students. They did not tell the students to expell the missionaries. They suimply want to be left alone! Israel is indeed threatened, and has been since its inception. I am a Christian  Yet I will always defend her. If some Jews become Christian along the way  or some Christians become Jews along the way  so what! This is not a religious war between Christians and Jews. What this is, is simply a need and a choice or each man on earth to find his/her own path through life. We are all only trying to raise families, live decent lives. Every really good Jew should be happy when someone among them finds the path to heaven. Perhaps you don't realise that Jews consider Christianity to be a false religion and that Jews who convert are damning themselves. When you go try and convert Jews, you are attacking them as far as we are concerned. Look, there are fewer than 18 million Jews in the world. We cant afford to have every child, especially those in religious schools be converted. Israel needs to back off with the religious police approach and spend more time and effort on (they already do) defending their right to exist. What is the point of defending the Stae of ISrael, but not the people and religion of Israel?

Exactly. Thus muslims were more tolerant of Jews in those republis, then russians were. The point I was making all along.

You mean the fact that they trimmed both Abdullah and Misha makes them more tolerant? Intolerance is trying to suppress someone else's customs, like that Jewish writer demanding the usage of politically-correct version of the date. If the customs are the same, or similar enough, it's not tolerance.

So would you say that Christianity is tolerant, when one of its main points is to convert everybody on the planet? Is that real tolerance?

Which religion is more tolerant:

1. The one that says "We love everyone so much that we want to make sure that they are saved and have eternal life; or,

2. The one that says "Screw everyone else, we are the chosen ones, let's not tell them about our little secret."

Before everyone goes crazy, I do not think that the religion in #2 is intolerant, however it is an appropriate defense when relgion #2 calls religion #1 intolerant simply because they are trying to share salvation with everyone.

Mmm.. NAMBLA will have you know that they are doing little boys a favor, how do you respond to that?

There is a big, big difference between Christians sharing the gospel and homos trying to sodomize your kids. I am not saying that you should neccesarrily like christian missionary work, but it is certianly not intolerant.

In all, I just don't get what you are so upset about. If a Jew came to my door and tried to convert me, it wouldn't upset me at all. Why does it upset you so much that Christians try to convert Jews?

You mean the fame that Odessa had for being a gangster city, was undeserved? Or that it was cleaned up as of the late Soviet period?

Undeserved? You remind me of this conversation I had with this guy from Austria a month ago. He is a firm believer that Protocols of Zion is not a fake. His main argument is that Jews got a rough deal in history and there has to be something to justify it. Like I said, pull up crime statistics if you want to support your claim of Odessa being crime central.

Yeah, I'd like to see the stats, but whenever a story breaks out about "Russian" mafia, most of the time there are Jewish names. But they could be not from Odessa, LOL!

Let's recap.. A Jew writes to another Jew, a suggestion on not using non Jewish symbols in a Jewish text that that other Jew is publishing to be read by other Jews for a Hanukkah, which is a Jewish holiday, and you are offended?

Do you know of any source? You haven't explained why Odessa was famous for gangsterism. For no reason?

I've known Odessa to be famous for its sense of humor and that it had a lot of Jews.. I haven't heard about it being stereotyped for gangsterism.

"Russian" mafia in USA, of course.

Ok. Simple. Vast majority of russian speakers in USA being Jewish..naturally there would be more russian speaking criminals who are Jewish, then not.. Proportions.. Go back to your america's most wanted, and do a search for "russian", see how many come up and then tell me that Jews are disproportionately criminals.

NAMBLA will have you know that they are doing little boys a favor, how do you respond to that?

You're comparing the spreading of the Good News that is the Christian liberation from inexorable pagan fate to the normalizing of anal sex between men and boys?

Correct me if I'm wrong, please ... because otherwise I'll suspect such a hateful and awful statement could only come from someone lacking in the charity and peace associated with loving obedience to God's will.

Why not just leave people alone with their beliefs? Why not actually try tolerating other people's belief instead of trying to change them?

Witnessing for Christ is a fundamental tenant of the Christian religion. Christians are commanded by the Lord to spread the good news. Therefore, you are the one who is intolerant of other people's beliefs and trying to change them, by demanding that they renounce a fundamental tenant of their religion.

I was making a stupid analogy in response to somebody else's stupid analogy. And it did shut them up

No it didn't, actually. In fact, we have continued our conversation, and the record clearly shows that. So you might want to apologize to the above poster for lying. The fact is that you say it is intolerant for Christians to practice their religion, which includes missionary work, and you refuse to defend that statement.

Lol. I never considered you to be someone to appreciate literature, spotlighter. But I'll concede the point that you'd probably be much more comfortable burning Jews than burning literature, particularly if the "literature" was old Carto rags :).

So, how goes the site? Selling any colon-cures? And what IS "the Synagogue of Satan"?

2. There is a difference between knocking on someone's door every single day and what is being discussed here.

My original question was "What's real tolerance?". Unfortunately, Christianity as you described it is not tolerant. I was horrified to learn from the mouth of the american women who were rescued from Taliban prisons, that they did indeed do missionary work in Afhganistan, even though everybody knows that its illegal to do so there.. It is also illegal to do missionary work with children in Israel.. nobody is saying anything about these missionaries breaking laws.. and anyways.. Look, I am not saying that Christians want to convert Jews out of malice or whatever. But no matter what the intent is, I do hope that you can see how it might piss somebody off. Specially went people wont' stop at anything and create such cults as Jews 4 Jesus - that's the worst.

Since The Word is a living thing and dwells in my heart, I am not upset when the printed Word is burned. Jesus is the Living Word and not even death can separate me from Him. They will know we are chrisians because of the love we demonstrate towards God, each other, and the world. If your sense of worth or self-esteem comes from your doctrine or a book even the New Testament , then you will be feel threatened or even angry when someone does something like this school. But, if your worth and sense of self comes from knowing that Jesus died for you and God's great love for you, then you will still be able to walk in love toward those who despise you and your beliefs in Jesus.

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